Call for Papers: Between Institutions and Geography: Cities as Hubs
of Medieval River Transport and Trade (EAUH 2026 Barcelona)
(image source: Wikimedia Commons)
17th European Association for Urban
History Conference (Barcelona)
Dr. Marco in ‘t Veld (Tilburg University), dr.
Bart Holterman (Forschungsstelle für die Geschichte der Hanse und des
Ostseeraums), and dr. Maurits den Hollander (Tilburg
University) warmly invite all academics interested in medieval river trade in
an urban context to submit their paper proposals for our main session (nr. 3)
at the EAUH conference in
Barcelona, 2-5 September 2026.
Session Abstract
It is commonly acknowledged that waterways are of crucial importance
for trade. They allow for relatively efficient transportation of goods. Cities
served as hubs in medieval trade, as providers of the necessary institutions
and services. While the relation between geography and the early modern economy
is well-studied, we know much less about the interaction between geography and
these urban institutions. This session will therefore investigate how urban
governance was influenced by the geography of rivers. Did cities cooperate to
ensure the efficient passage of ships? Were they developing common trade
policies, or rather competing? To what extent did they copy legislation or
exchange professionals?
In general, cities kept a close eye on legislation and institutions
in other cities. Historians, particularly in the tradition of the New
Institutional Economics, have underlined the importance of these social and
legal norms for facilitating economic growth. Others, like Fernand Braudel,
have focused on the more stable preconditions of economic prosperity, such as
the position of a city in geographically determined commercial systems. This
session draws on both academic traditions. For example, the city of Dordrecht
possessed important staple rights in the wine trades along the Rhine river.
These privileges were opposed by other cities and would have hindered
commercial activity, but on the other hand cities also cooperated to divide the
river into spheres of exclusive economic influence, such as Hamburg and
Magdeburg on the Elbe or Wroclaw, Frankfurt and Szczecin on the Oder river. As
such, they can be considered both as pillars in the economic system as well as
crucial institutions in the economic organisation of trade.
However, our focus on cities also raises additional questions. How
were privileges concretely enforced and how was infrastructure maintained?
Staple rights, as well as toll rights, for example, were mostly privileges of
the sovereign. On the other hand, it was often up to the guilds or merchant
associations to prevent harbours and canals from freezing up in winter. As such
rivers, while crossing several jurisdictions, seem to have necessitated cities
to participate in special forms of multi-level governance, both external
(inter-city communications, relations with princely authorities) and internal
(urban professionals, guilds).
Although these examples are derived from the context of the northern
European lowlands, the organisers believe that these questions are relevant in
relation to many river systems. It is worthwhile to compare the specific
dynamics of rivers from an economic, geographic, and legal point of view.
Therefore, we would like to invite scholars from all over the world to
contribute, preferably based on original archival research, to the analysis of
the role of cities in transport and trade along rivers.
Paper Submissions
We encourage interested scholars with a diverse, global range of
perspectives on this topic to submit abstracts for our session according to the
general conference guidelines. Presentations should aim to be between 10 – 15
minutes, with additional space for discussion. Abstracts of max. 2500
characters can be submitted through this link
ultimately Wednesday 22 October 2025. Please note that you will have to
register on the website first, before being able to submit. Select ‘session 3’
when submitting your abstract.
